The average homeowner is not an air conditioning expert, and there’s no reason why everyone should have to be. But if the “facts” you believe about air conditioning are things you learned from other homeowners and not from the experts, they may actually just be myths. Here are some things people mistakenly believe about their AC units, and the truths you should know instead.
Turn Off the AC When You’re Not Home
Of course, it makes perfect sense not to waste energy when you won’t be there to benefit from your air conditioner’s cooling power, right?
Here’s the trick: if you let your home get too hot, it will take ages to cool it back down again, and it will put a lot of strain on the system trying to get back to a reasonable temperature. Instead, set your thermostat about ten degrees higher when you’re not home, or use a programmable thermostat to adjust the temperature based on your schedule. This will save you a lot of money without causing any problems.
Set the Thermostat Extra Low to Cool Your Home Faster
If you have let the temperature in your home get much too high, should you set the thermostat even lower to jump-start the cooling? Definitely not.
The air conditioner cools at the same rate regardless of what the thermostat is set to. You’re only telling it the temperature at which it should stop cooling, not having any effect on the speed of the cooling process. Set it to the temperature you actually prefer, and next time, try not to let your house get quite so hot in the first place.
Run Fans Throughout Your Home to Keep It Cool
Fans do help people to feel cooler. But they don’t actually lower the temperature of the home. Running a fan in an unoccupied room is a waste of energy. The cooling effect of the fan has to do with how it moves air across your skin, accelerating your natural cooling-off process by carrying your heat away from your body. Each air molecule takes some of your heat away with it, so moving air, with more molecules brushing up against you, will carry away more heat.
Get Your Refrigerant Refilled
Many people think that refrigerant is like motor oil and needs to be changed or topped up. But your air conditioner had all the refrigerant it would ever need when it was manufactured. It flows through a closed loop and can’t be used up. The only time when refrigerant needs to be refilled is when there has been a leak, and before refilling it, your technician will locate and patch the coil so it won’t continue leaking.
Any time you have questions about your air conditioning in Auburn, GA, we would be delighted to hear from you. Our team of highly-trained AC technicians are ready and able to explain anything you’d like to know.
Reach out to Wall Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. with all your air conditioning concerns.